Kevin Costner on Making Horizon: An American Saga, Ovation at Cannes & Meeting a Young Matt Damon

Our first guest tonight is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor and director with a passion project that earned him an 11-minute standing

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on KH. The first part of his massive Mega Western is Horizon American Saga, Chapter 1. Think about how far these men have just come. and how long they've been at it because of an old wound. I know the man I met was on his way to kill everyone in that house. He might as well have been walking to pick up the mail because everything was bothering him now that they had a second defeat and he heard this much further out of his way, I can't imagine he'll be nicer to you this time, so they'll just kill me and then just in front of everyone, no, they'll probably take you somewhere quiet.

They're Horizon in American so chapter one is out in theaters June 28th please welcome Kevin Coster welcome Kevin Kevin. I didn't think it was possible for you to be more handsome, and yet here you are with this mustache. and the soulle patch that is working is really working for you and me, I have to say it has to work four times. The funny thing is that you have, I mean, this is, as I mentioned, a four-part movie and you can't just shoot that fast? You have to do it over a period of years, which means you're going to have that for years, no, oh, I mean, the strange thing was I had one that I was planning to do. and no one would do it.

I thought I was going to do it in 2003 and no one was going to make it and I thought you know I'm going to do four more and then I talked to a professional therapist and he said I want to talk about this a little bit Kevin the first one no one I just want to clear it up no one wanted that first one yeah, It's true, he goes and you want to do four more. I said, yeah, yeah, and he said, you know, that's going to be a problem. and I said no for me. I'm kind of like huh, I'm kind of set on my path, so are you sure it was a therapist and not your accountant who had this conversation with you?

My therapist called my accountant immediately. There is no way to see it. What do you see what was wrong? Normally I wouldn't break my client and patient confidentiality, but in this case we're going to do this because you really liked that you invested a lot of your own money, if not all of your own money, in this, this is not but most of it. It's mine and I stand by it, you know, I don't fall out of love that easily when I just like something, it's just that I really believe in the cinematic experience. I feel like there is a movie that I would like.

To see, I don't feel any different from you. There is this thing that happens in a theater when the lights go out and come back on. You always think that when they have a well they no longer have a curtain, but I remember when the curtain had just opened. I miss that you always thought, something magical could happen and that's how I feel about movies and that's how I feel about Horizon. It is a film that I made for myself and knowing that it would come to these theaters. It wouldn't be my movie anymore, it would be yours, well, you and you, but you never really know and you never know how it will be received and then you get scammed and you stay there and they show everyone the movie and they take it away. and do you know what's going well while it's happening?

Don't you have an idea yet? I really, really had no idea what was going to happen. They were very still, the whole, the whole, you know for most of the time. but my interpretation is that they were really leaning into that, it's um and then we have what happened during the standing

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itself, where you were moved to tears by 11 minutes of standing or, first of all, what's going on in your head. While this is happening, well, I actually started walking my life backwards for a second. I went back to the beginning and asked myself, do you know how I ended up in a place like that?

We all have these dreams where we want to be and I. 'If I had had mine and I had taken some really big bites out of life and life has taken some pretty big bites out of me and um, but I, I, you just know I keep going and when they started the they applauded and they didn't stop really no I knew what and I didn't I didn't I didn't cry my eyes were full your eyes were just full yes sometimes you hydrate too much there I I I it happens especially with the mustache nothing here but I was moved by what happened in France I was moved by the largest film festival in the world and you don't normally like French people, look at you, another international incident right here, you brought your kids to the uh, to the premiere.

Yes, I wanted them to see me work. I brought five of them and bought them tuxedos. I bought them dresses. And you told them what if this movie doesn't work? This is the last vacation daddy will take you on. Did you know? I wanted to know how worried they were that they would stay with me and support me and the moment they got there, my two sons went fishing, they got a boat and they went fishing. My three daughters ended up on a boat and said they would see me around. At 3 or 4:00 I was working and then I made a call and they were having drinks at that time, so they arrived around 8:00 at night.

I was working. I said we came to France to be with family and they say, it's working out very well dad, yes, yes, yes, it's a work thing, really, what do we do next? I said, I don't know, we need your T director to realize that, oh, we're going to take a break, Kevin Cosner is with us. Horizon in American Saga Chapter 1 is his movie, we'll be right back we endorse Kevin Cner, the director and star of the four-part series Horizon and American Saga Chapter One opens in theaters. I didn't even know they got rid of the curtain and I was at the movie theater this week and I didn't realize they got rid of the curtain, you're right, why did they get rid of the curtain?

I don't know, that was kind of letting you know. What was happening? So when you directed Dances with Wolves, your first movie that you directed properly and the first movie from the beginning, you were the best movie, you, the Best Director, screwed your head in a way, like it was Invincible, there's nothing. that I can't do what happened was uh when I had success with dances I just wanted to move on I didn't feel empowered I thought I needed it I just feel like I need to do better I'm going to do better I was going to find other movies that were a special moment for me, but I never felt that that was the one I was going to live.

I thought I had to move on and when you were filming that movie and you're in charge now you're the director of the movie do you feel? Have you ever had that imposter thing or why am I in charge or am I nervous or maybe not? I feel like I know what I'm doing. I'm doing well, I thought I did it at Dances, I mean, I thought well, the only person who can screw it up is me, but I finally remember going to I was a stage manager right out of college. I was

making

$324. One hour I was really moving quickly up there and um and finally, you know, the parents understood that it was cool that they weren't sure things were going to happen for me and finally they did and then, I finally started to direct and my father. who didn't want me to act finally you know finally and when it started working I said hey I think I'm going to direct and I could and he said look this acting thing has been working very, very well, don't ruin this and then I remember my first day I came out and I felt very good because I had like 200 people and something in my life my parents came to everything well, I had a great time, they came to every little game, they came to everything.

They came to see me directly, I told them, you can't do that, I'm going to be with all the boys, you can't come and you know everything, and they, my mom, said we're not going to get in the way and I said, well, what does it say, we have an RV and if they ever tell us to park it, we'll be there in these lawn chairs and I'll watch you walk to work every day, honey, and I'd walk and see the boys and I remember I'd walk, walk, see everyone here and then my mom was at the top of the hill and she was leaving and I remember I just went and they literally went they saw the whole movie they were there all the time all the time and then they and then they and then they bought a house there I said I don't do sequels but they said well, we bought a house just in case, just in case, that's crazy, it's like, it's like we had a kid in elementary school whose mom parked it on the playground and He watched at recess every day and we tortured him, of course, you were that kid.

H, look, there's a story about um Field of Dreams uh the scene that was filmed at Fenway Park I want to get to a point in my life where I just mentioned something that I did and everyone applauds spontaneously but during the field I did it right, no, I did. I know like you, I want to get to that point, but um, when you were at Fenway Park and there were two extras in the crowd, those extras were

young

guys, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and do you remember

meeting

those guys? They were on the stand and like college kids, they came up and they both leaned back at the same time, they leaned back at the same time, they looked at each other at the same time and we talked and they were so enthusiastic, they were on fire and um.

Do I remember them absolutely? I texted one of them, the one who's not allowed on the show, today and asked him if he remembered it well and he said, I remember it well. I literally had a poster of The Untouchables on my wall. loser um, being you, he went out and stayed with the extras between montages. I asked him what he was doing and he told me to shoot and I laughed like a 12 year old girl but the way she laughs was a big deal. for us because he had exactly the career we wanted, he was very nice to us, well, that and that nice guy turned out to be the monster, Matt Damon, which is remarkable, yeah, so now you're the first one to film. two films The Horizon films you are filming two more of these films you are filming you are in the middle of filming one right now I am leaving here to direct tomorrow your son is in the film yes Did you have to pay him or did he come?

He didn't have to audition. Heard. I know these parts must be very important in people's careers, so I don't hand them out like candy. Oh, ask, but there's a moment there. However, there's a moment where you know you're far from home and I want to catch them, so it was a part that wasn't too big, but I could have them with me and, in fact, the character I play is called Hayes. Ellison and, you know, I started this again in 1988 and in 2024 I'm finally going to do it, but I named my son after Hayes and he was 13 and I thought I really have to make this movie and um and I looked.

I told him, you know I want you to be in this movie and if you see it, it's a devastating moment, it's a moment you never want to have to experience, but the choice he makes will also put a lump in your throat when you see it. him, what he does and movies can be about that, they can, they can be about things we will never forget if you do them right, it's great to see you and congratulations on this scribbled epic, your dream come true Kevin cner all Horizon and americ Chapter one football opens on June 28.

We will return with Pamela Adlon.